Billag remains the collection agency for radio and TV fees

The Federal Department of the Environment, Energy and Communications (DETEC) has commissioned Billag AG to collect radio and television reception fees until 2014. Billag prevailed in the DETEC's invitation procedure against two other competitors, whose names are not being disclosed for legal reasons. The Department has come to the conclusion that the Accarda subsidiary Billag, which in turn belongs to Swisscom, best meets the requirements. Criteria such as operating procedures, quality and suitability of the service, cost-effectiveness, operating costs, customer service, technical solutions and price were taken into account. The new contract between DETEC and Billag begins on January 1, 2008 and will run for seven years.Billag has been collecting broadcasting fees since 1998. According to Swisscom, market penetration is 96% for television reception and 92% for radio reception. With this collection service, Billag has covered all fee payers apart from a few percent. The collection volume amounts to more than CHF 1.2 billion per year. francs per year. In return, 12 million invoices are issued to three million customers each year. The fees are owed to the federal government for the reception of radio and television programs, whereby the fee income is primarily used to finance SRG SSR idée suisse programs.